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Murray will face Italy's Andreas Seppi in the Davis Cup World Group Quarter Final [GETTY]

The last 24 hours Andy has come down with some sort of virus

Leon Smith

The setting is magnificent and the tie is big news in Italy but a day's delay would not be looked on too sadly by Murray or Fognini who is trying to shake off a left leg strain in his quad.

He takes on Ward, the British number three, ranked 160 in the world who was given the nod ahead of Dan Evans who is 30 places above him.

Smith opted to stay with Ward who played so well in beating the USA in February on clay, getting Britain off to a flying start by beating Sam Querrey who was 135 places higher than him in the rankings.

The atmosphere here will be completely different from San Diego which was calm, polite and ultimately subdued.

Italy feel this is their best chance to win the Davis Cup since they lost to Sweden in the final in 1998 and the fans are expected to be loud, proud, partisan and hostile.

Ward, 27, says he is ready, bring it on, having experienced highs and lows in the Davis Cup since the son a London cabbie first appeared in 2010.

He recalled yesterday the first time when he realised that the Davis Cup is not the same as normal tennis tournaments and could be as passionate as him watching Arsenal.

Murray became the 6th man in tennis history to have won over $30,000,000 in career prize money [GETTY]

"Lithuania, in my first Davis Cup tie away,"he said yesterday. "That was ugly. The crowd were screaming and shouting in between your first and second serves. It was a tough atmosphere.

"But it's something you kind of enjoy in the end.

"Everyone is annoying you so much that you want to prove a point. I'm sure it will be even worse tomorrow. I'm well up for it.

"It will be a football-type atmosphere. I wish tennis was more like it every week."

Murray, now ranked at eight, has played Seppi, world 34, six times and won five of those including a straightforward encounter in Rome on clay.

If fit, he might yet usurp his close friend, Ross Hutchins, who has been named in the doubles team tomorrow with Colin Fleming.

They can change the team close to the match and if the tie is on a knife-edge, Murray would be drafted in for Hutchins who is returning to the team for the first time since 2012 when he was diagnosed with cancer.

"We are underdogs I feel we have a great chance," said Smith, before heading back to check on his patient, Murray.